Norris Weese

American football player (1951–1995)

American football player

Norris WeeseNo. 14

Position:| Quarterback
Personal information
Born:| (1951-08-12)August 12, 1951
Baton Rouge, Louisiana, U.S.
Died:| January 20, 1995(1995-01-20) (aged 43)
Englewood, Colorado, U.S.
Height:| 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Weight:| 195 lb (88 kg)
Career information
High school:| Chalmette (LA)
College:| Ole Miss
NFL draft:| 1974 / round: 4 / pick: 99
Career history

* The Hawaiians (1974)
* Denver Broncos (1974–1979)

Career NFL statistics
| TD–INT:| 7-14

|

Passing yards:| 1,887
Passer rating:| 66.9
Single game rushing yards:| 120
Player stats at PFR

Norris Lee Weese (August 12, 1951 - January 20, 1995) was a professional American football quarterback. He was a star quarterback for Chalmette High School and the University of Mississippi. He had the unenviable task of succeeding Mississippi QB legend Archie Manning, but performed well in the key position.

Recalling the November 4, 1972 game in Baton Rouge in which Ole Miss lost to Louisiana State University, 17–16, because of a unique touchdown catch from quarterback Bert Jones to LSU running back Brad Davis, Weese said Tiger Stadium "just exploded with thousands of fans jumping high in the night air." Until that point the Rebels had outplayed LSU all night long.[1]

Weese played the 1974 season for The Hawaiians in the World Football League before joining the NFL.[2] He spent four seasons in the NFL playing for the Denver Broncos (1976–1979), mostly as a backup quarterback.

In Super Bowl XII against the Dallas Cowboys, where his famed high school head coach Bobby Nuss held the chains, Weese replaced starter Craig Morton in the third quarter after Morton nearly threw his 5th interception.[3] Weese led the Broncos to a touchdown on the drive to cut his team's deficit to 20–10, but he lost a fumble in the fourth quarter, setting up a Dallas touchdown that put the game away.[3] He was known for being a mobile QB.

Weese was named starting quarterback for the Broncos in 1979, but a knee injury that year ended his NFL career. He finished his career with 1887 passing yards, seven touchdowns and fourteen interceptions.

Weese went on to become a certified public accountant in Denver, Colorado.

Norris Weese died on January 20, 1995, of bone cancer.[4]

To this day, Weese holds the record for most single game rushing yards as a quarterback in Broncos history, rushing for 120 yards on 12 carries against the Chicago Bears on December 12, 1976.[5][6]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Chet Hilburn, The Mystique of Tiger Stadium: 25 Greatest Games: The Ascension of LSU Football (Bloomington, Indiana: WestBow Press, 2012), pp. 37-38
2. ^ "WFL Starting Quarterbacks". mmbolding.com. Archived from the original on January 5, 2011. Retrieved October 2, 2010.
3. ^ a b "Super Bowl XII Cowboys Rip Erring Broncos". The Washington Post. January 15, 1978. Retrieved October 2, 2010.
4. ^ "Norris Weese; Broncos Quarterback, 43". The New York Times. January 24, 1995. Retrieved October 2, 2010.
5. ^ "Denver Broncos at Chicago Bears - December 12th, 1976".
6. ^ "Player Game Finder Query Results". pro-football-reference.com.

## External links

[edit]

* Norris Weese obituary

* v
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Ole Miss Rebels starting quarterbacks

* Roy W. Carruth
* Kennith Haxton
* Ralph Fletcher
* Doby Bartling
* Charlie Conerly
* Farley Salmon
* Jimmy Lear
* Eagle Day
* Ray Brown
* Bobby Franklin
* Jake Gibbs
* Doug Elmore
* Glynn Griffing
* Bruce Newell
* Archie Manning
* Norris Weese
* Kenny Lyons
* Tim Ellis
* Bobby Garner
* John Fourcade
* Kelly Powell
* Kent Austin
* David McKinney
* Chris Osgood
* Mark Young
* John Darnell
* Russ Shows
* Tom Luke
* Lawrence Adams
* Josh Nelson
* Paul Head
* Stewart Patridge
* Romaro Miller
* Eli Manning
* Ethan Flatt
* Micheal Spurlock
* Brent Schaeffer
* Seth Adams
* Jevan Snead
* Jeremiah Masoli
* Nathan Stanley
* Zack Stoudt
* Barry Brunetti
* Randall Mackey
* Bo Wallace
* Chad Kelly
* Shea Patterson
* Jordan Ta'amu
* John Rhys Plumlee
* Matt Corral
* Luke Altmyer
* Jaxson Dart

* v
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* e

Denver Broncos starting quarterbacks

* Frank Tripucka (1960–1963)
* George Herring (1961)
* George Shaw (1962)
* Mickey Slaughter (1963–1966)
* John McCormick (1963, 1965–1966, 1968)
* Don Breaux (1963)
* Jacky Lee (1964–1965)
* Max Choboian (1966)
* Scotty Glacken (1966)
* Steve Tensi (1966–1970)
* Jim LeClair (1966–1967)
* Marlin Briscoe (1968)
* Pete Liske (1969–1970)
* Alan Pastrana (1970)
* Don Horn (1971)
* Steve Ramsey (1971–1972, 1974–1976)
* Charley Johnson (1972–1975)
* John Hufnagel (1975)
* Craig Penrose (1976, 1978)
* Craig Morton (1977–1982)
* Norris Weese (1978–1979)
* Matt Robinson (1980)
* Steve DeBerg (1981–1983)
* Mark Herrmann (1982)
* John Elway (1983–1998)
* Gary Kubiak (1983–1984, 1988–1989)
* Ken Karcher (1987)
* Tommy Maddox (1992)
* Hugh Millen (1994)
* Bill Musgrave (1996)
* Bubby Brister (1998)
* Brian Griese (1999–2002)
* Chris Miller (1999)
* Gus Frerotte (2000–2001)
* Steve Beuerlein (2002–2003)
* Jake Plummer (2003–2006)
* Danny Kanell (2003)
* Jarious Jackson (2003)
* Jay Cutler (2006–2008)
* Kyle Orton (2009–2011)
* Chris Simms (2009)
* Tim Tebow (2010–2011)
* Peyton Manning (2012–2015)
* Brock Osweiler (2015, 2017)
* Trevor Siemian (2016–2017)
* Paxton Lynch (2016–2017)
* Case Keenum (2018)
* Joe Flacco (2019)
* Brandon Allen (2019)
* Drew Lock (2019–2021)
* Jeff Driskel (2020)
* Brett Rypien (2020, 2022)
* Teddy Bridgewater (2021)
* Russell Wilson (2022–2023)
* Jarrett Stidham (2023)
* Bo Nix (2024–present)

* v
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* e

Los Angeles Rams 1974 NFL draft selections

* John Cappelletti
* Bill Simpson
* Al Oliver
* Norris Weese
* Frank Johnson
* John Harvey
* Don Hutt
* Derek Williams
* Rick Hayes
* Roger Freberg
* Pete Solverson
* Ananias Carson
* Bob Thomas
* Dave Ottmar
* Willie Townsend

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